water in cylinders - The Hull Truth

breeden · 08-15-2008, 02:07 PM

just bought a boat seller said had 2 stroke engine rebuilt a year ago and only ran it once and ran wonderful. When he went to winterize it found water in cylinders?? Any tips on what the problem could be??

monomoy74 · 08-15-2008, 02:38 PM

Head gasket?

breeden · 08-15-2008, 02:58 PM

both head gaskets???

monomoy74 · 08-15-2008, 03:13 PM

Well, we're assuming that he's being totally forthcoming. For all we know, it could have been submerged. How did he find the water in the cylinder? From visual inspection, steam out the exhaust, or from hydrolock while trying to turn over run the engine as required to winterize?

There are still a few questions. How long was the gap in time between when he last ran it and when he went to winterize it? Where was the boat stored during that time?

08-15-2008, 06:58 PM

A few scenarios come to mind....

Heads improperly torqued, resulting in head gaskets not seating evenly & possible warpage after running & reaching temp.....had an older 2 stroke, water in one cyl. Owner had replaced gasket, but was getting wet. Pulled head, checked with straight egge, mild warpage. I figure 8 sanded on thisk glass surfase w/100 grit paper, installed new gasket, ran tt temp, let cool, re-torqued & all was well again.
Also, cheap., low quality head gaskets will cause problems too.

How much water entered, how long did it sit, did it pit the cyl. wall, and was it salt water???
What are the comp. readings?

breeden · 08-16-2008, 06:11 AM

all he said was he visually saw water in cylinder didnt say how much was in there. Only ran once since rebuilt and went to winterize a month later after running it and found water?? Hooked up to water hose and said it cranked right up he said went step by step in owners manual on running off water hose. Heard rumor that powering down can cause water to be pushed into cylinders sounded kinda crazy to me but i really dont know much about marine engines. It is a 2 stroke inboard with jet unit. The guy i bought it from said they havent ran it but 30min to an hour in fresh water. Who knows thanks for the heads up

monomoy74 · 08-17-2008, 01:24 AM

Well, on 2-stroke PWCs if you shut the engine off before shutting off the water, sometimes one of the cylinders will get flooded. Not sure if that applies to outboards.

breeden · 08-17-2008, 03:32 AM

it has a 115 hp omc inboard with jet unit